Patient-reported Primary Care Video and Telephone Telemedicine Preference Shifts During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Patient perceptions of primary care telephone and video telemedicine and whether COVID-19 pandemic-related telemedicine exposure shifted patients’ visit preference is unknown. Objectives: We examined patient surveys to understand the health care experience of patients seeking primary care through telemedicine and how patients expected their preferences to shift as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research Design/Subjects: In an integrated delivery system that shifted to a “telemedicine-first” health care model during the COVID-19 pandemic, we sampled monthly and collected 1000 surveys from adults with primary care telemedicine visits scheduled through the online patient portal between 3/16/2020 and 10/31/2020. Measures: Participants reported their preferred primary care visit modality (telephone, video, or in-person visits) across 3 time points: before, during and (hypothetically) after the COVID-19 pandemic, and reported their general assessment of primary care visits during the pandemic. Results: The majority of participants preferred in-person visits before (69%) and after the COVID-19 pandemic (57%). However, most participants reported a preference for telemedicine visits during the pandemic and continue to prefer telemedicine visits at a 12% higher rate post-pandemic. Many participants (63%) expressed interest in using telemedicine at least some of the time. Among participants reporting a recent telemedicine visit, 85% agreed that the visit addressed their health needs. Conclusion: As primary care visit modality preferences continue to evolve, patients anticipate that they will continue to prefer telemedicine visits, both video and telephone, at an increased rate than before the COVID-19 pandemic.